JUST over a year ago, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the Azeri capital for two days. The prime minister was reportedly so impressed by the landscaping in Baku that, upon his return, he instructed his team to replicate it. This year, the premier’s dreams are finally being realised, as a delegation from Azerbaijan visited Islamabad recently to advise the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on how to landscape just like them.

The group toured the city and is set to submit a proposal for the beautification of Islamabad, including recommendations for a food street to be built in Lake View Park, as announced by the CDA last year. This has reportedly been envisioned along the lines of Nizami Street — a popular downtown pedestrian shopping centre in Baku.

The international collaboration, for one, is appreciable; we should accumulate diverse perspectives and learn from wherever we can. But let’s also dig just one layer deeper and question such knee-jerk urban design decisions. Do we want to merely copy the aesthetics of what we see elsewhere, or study the underlying foundations of what makes them appealing?

Do we know what it is about Nizami Street that makes us want to recreate it? Or........

© Dawn